Defrost Settings
by aflightoffancy
Summary: A Christmas supply run gets Max and Alec into more trouble than they bargained for. MA


**Defrost Settings**

Disclaimer: I don't own anything. Just borrowing.

First, please allow me some shameless self-promotion. My latest novel, _Gypsy Tattoo_, is available from Amazon. If you're a Prime member, you can read any of my novels for FREE. There are links on my author page.

Now… this story… I was working on a full length DA story and I was having a little trouble getting into the swing of things, so I decided to work on something short and sweet. The result is this little puff piece of Christmas season joy. I promise the full length story will get done before too long!

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><p>"This is the worst supply run ever," Alec hissed. He and Max were huddled behind large packing crates hiding from, of all things, the thieves who'd come to rob the place, and managed to get there first.<p>

"Shut up," Max shot back. "It's not like it was _my_ idea to get caught in the middle of a robbery."

All they'd wanted was some meat to take back to TC. Supplies were short and Christmas was coming. A ham or twenty would make things a lot less grim, so they'd come up with a plan to liberate a few from a processing place a few miles from TC. Unfortunately, these days there was no shortage of thieves, and this crew had apparently had the same idea, only on a larger scale. They'd already emptied one of the giant walk-in freezers and moved on to the next, loading all the nice pork products into a truck before she and Alec could get their fair share.

Max heard a loud banging and poked her head out just far enough to see where it was coming from. About thirty feet away, there was an office door with a small sign attached that said, "Plant Manager." It looked like the robbers had locked the manager inside his office and he was trying to break back out. Max could see him through the tiny window at head height in the door banging away at it. He shouldn't have even been there. It was after hours and no one was supposed to be around.

"So what now?" Alec asked.

Max shrugged. "Go home? Cut our losses?"

Alec turned to her, looking genuinely heartbroken. "But… it's Christmas!" he said, as if that made perfect sense.

"You've never had Christmas before. What difference does it make now?"

He narrowed his eyes. "Your argument is that since we were raised by evil party-poopers who never let us have Christmas, we should just go with that?"

"Did you just call Manticore Party-poopers?" Because who used words like that anyway and, seriously, party-poopers?

Alec looked away from her, back toward the crew of jerks loading the truck with all of their ham. "Yeah. And I'm about to add you to the list of party-poopers. Because it's Christmas, life is lousy, and I want some ham to make it better."

"You're part cat," Max sneered. "Maybe we should find you some fish instead."

Alec huffed. "I'm not a Tabby. Lions do not go fishing on the Serengeti."

Max rolled her eyes. "Fine. I'll go find you a zebra to take down."

"Who wants zebra?" Alec muttered. "Too stringy."

"I really hope you're joking," Max remarked.

"Suffice it to say, I was on a mission, the mission did not go well, and there was a zebra involved at some point."

"That is wrong on so many levels."

Alec sniffed disdainfully. "Tell me about it. You're just in a bad mood 'cause Logan dumped you."

"He did not _dump_ me," Max said through gritted teeth.

"Fine. You dumped him. Didn't know it was your turn this week. I can never keep up with who dumped who. You two should make a spreadsheet or something so the rest of us can keep up."

"That's not funny," she snapped.

"No, it's not." Alec turned slightly to look at her. "But it is true."

"You don't know-

"Don't move!"

She and Alec both went stock still at the command, then very slowly turned to find a tall man with a semi-auto pointed at them.

"On your feet," he ordered. He was thin and wearing dark clothing, although he had bright red hair. She imagined he had to wear a hat when he was doing proper burglar work instead of stealing from a factory closed for the holidays.

Max rose from where they were hiding behind the boxes and Alec did as well. The man eyed them, as if sizing up the danger. She could kick herself for letting Alec distract her while they were on a job. Better yet, she could kick Alec.

"Look, can't we-" But Alec didn't get any farther than that. The thief fired and the force of the shot knocked him back into the packing crates.

"I warned you not to move," the man growled.

"Alec!" Max cried in alarm and started to turn to where he'd fallen.

"I'd stay where you are unless you want the same treatment. I don't like shooting women, but that don't mean I won't."

Alec groaned and struggled back to his feet, but even out of the corner of her eye Max could see the blood on his shirt. Max knew that no matter how injured he was, however, he didn't want to face a threat from the floor.

Max was just about to blur forward and disarm the man when they all stopped at the sound of a new voice, a very small, very young voice.

"Daddy?"

As one, she, Alec, and the robber all turned to see a child, maybe five years old, walk out of one of the other offices next to where the manager was locked inside his.

"Daddy, what was that?" she asked in that special tone of scared little kids. "I wanna go home."

It was very obvious when the plant manager realized the little girl was visible because the banging on the locked door reached hysterical proportions.

The gunman, Red, stepped to one side so he could get a look at the little girl. "Come over here, kid," he ordered.

The child, in a smart move, shook her head in a definite no.

"I mean it, kid. Get over here now!"

"Yeah, that's gonna do it," Alec muttered. Red glared and pointed his gun at Alec again, but thankfully didn't fire. Max was really going to have to talk to Alec about smart-mouthing people who didn't mind shooting him. Granted, Max had the same problem. There was a reason Mole always gave them the code names Pot and Kettle when they went on missions. He seemed to think it was hilarious.

"What's going on?"

They all turned as one of the men who'd been loading the truck walked toward them. He had a distinct air of authority about him and Max guessed he was in charge of this little theft ring. He was short, thickly built and his expression made Red's look almost cordial.

"I caught these two hiding behind the crates. Don't think they work here," Red answered.

"Looks like you already winged one of 'em," the boss said gruffly.

"He don't like obeyin' orders."

Max looked to the side to see that the little girl had moved closer to see what was going on. It wasn't great as far as survival instincts, but it would make it easier for Max to get to her.

"Whatever," the boss said. "Get rid of 'em."

That made Red raise his eyebrows. "Get rid of 'em? Like… _rid_ of 'em, rid of 'em?"

"The kid, too."

"I didn't join this outfit to kill kids, man. Mouthy idiots, fine…"

"Gee, thanks," Alec said under his breath.

"Shut up," Max ordered.

"…But not a kid."

"Fine," the boss said as he pulled his own gun. "Go finish loading the truck."

Red scowled in disapproval. "I don't think-"

"Did I ask for your opinion?" the other man barked. "Get going."

In order to get back to the truck, Red would pass between them and his boss. Max looked to Alec and he nodded imperceptibly. Max knew he was injured, but even so, he was better equipped to fight than a child, so Max was going to have to help the kid and Alec was going to be on his own.

Just as Red blocked his boss' line of vision, they bolted. Max snatched up the little girl and ran. She heard Alec close behind just as the first shots whistled past.

More shots, automatic gunfire this time, followed. Max rushed through the closest door. It led to one of the giant walk-in freezers they'd spied earlier. The thieves had emptied it first and moved on to the next. She blurred through the door, dropped the little girl who fell clumsily to the floor, and slammed the oversize metal door behind them just in time to block off more gunfire. There was no way to lock the door from the inside, but the door opened in. She put her back to the door and dug in her feet to keep them from pushing it open. Immediately, she could feel the cold from the metal door begin to seep through her jacket.

Alec tumbled to the ground beside the little girl. She began crying, more from surprise at being grabbed, toted, then summarily dropped, than because she was hurt.

Alec stared at the child as if unsure what to do. He looked at Max and she just shrugged. It wasn't like she had any more parenting skill than he did. At the moment, she was more concerned with how much blood she could see on Alec's shirt. She couldn't tell where he'd been hit, but it wasn't good. It looked to be mid-chest, closer to the right side.

Alec hesitated, but then reached out and put his arm around the little girl, who nearly fell into him, happy for comfort, even from a stranger. Alec winced, but didn't let on that she'd hurt him.

"I want my daddy," the little girl sobbed.

"It's ok," Alec said, patting her back awkwardly. Finally, he just gave in and wrapped his arms around the child. "We'll get you back to your daddy as soon as we can."

He looked up at Max and she knew he was thinking the same thing she was. They'd get the kid back to her daddy as long as the thieves didn't kill him first. They'd stopped trying to push the door open and Max dared a glance through the tiny window at head height in the door.

The thieves were nowhere to be seen, but because of the inset window she couldn't really get a good view. Deciding it was worth the risk, Max tried the handle so she could peek out. Much to her chagrin, the door didn't budge.

She put her full weight into it, but it still didn't move. She looked out the window to see if the jerks had jammed the door somehow, but she couldn't tell.

Max turned around and saw that the little girl was calming slightly and had managed to wiggle her way into Alec's lap so that his arms were around her and she'd tucked her head against his chest. Alec caught Max looking and shrugged as if to say, "What was I supposed to do?"

Max rolled her eyes and hurried past them, hoping against hope there was another way out of the walk-in freezer. It didn't take more than a minute or two for her to figure out that there wasn't. They had a grand total of shelves, shelves and more shelves, a concrete floor, and a whole lot of steel walls. The thieves had emptied it of everything else. There wasn't even anything left for her to jam into the venting to stop some of the freezing air from being pumped into the room.

She walked back to Alec and said, "We have a problem. We're stuck in here."

Alec just looked up at her. "Then we're about to have two problems."

The little girl's teeth were chattering. Max realized that Alec had already opened up his jacket and used it to make a cocoon as best he could around the little girl, using his body heat to keep her warm. She was in jeans and a red sweatshirt with Santa on it, but it wouldn't make much difference as cold as it was.

"It's below zero in here, Max. You and I have higher body temps. We'll hold out ok, but her?" He nodded to the child in his arms. "She won't last long."

Max swore. "I've got to get us out of here."

"Daddy s-says we're not supposed to use w-words like that," the little girl whispered to Alec, but Max heard her all the same.

"Your daddy's right," Alec said sagely. "Sometimes grownups get angry though and forget. My friend, Max, here, shouldn't get so angry, should she?" He looked up at her and smirked.

Max rolled her eyes. She went back to the door to study it. She might have to take it off its hinges if she couldn't muscle it open.

"What's your name?"

"Holly."

"Really?" Max could hear the smile in Alec's voice. "That's a perfect name for Christmastime."

"Daddy said it's a plant. I don't wanna be named after a plant," Holly said petulantly.

Her teeth were starting to chatter badly. She was so little, she would be losing body heat a lot faster than an adult would.

"But Holly isn't just any plant. It's a beautiful plant, and more importantly it's an evergreen. That means even in the winter when all the leaves are gone on the other plants and trees, it's still green. So no matter what season, it's still nice and pretty. I bet that's why he named you Holly."

"Really?"

"Definitely."

"Ok."

Max wondered if she'd ever been that innocent. She couldn't remember ever being able to take an adult's word for something simply because adults were smart and trustworthy and wouldn't take advantage of a child.

"I wanna go home," Holly said and to Max's ear she was starting to sound sleepy. She was going downhill far too quickly.

"I know, Holly. Me, too." He tried to wrap his jacket around her more tightly. He looked up at Max, his eyes telling her to get a move on.

The problem was that Max was pretty much out of options. She couldn't pull the door off its hinges. They were inset and sealed just to piss her off. She couldn't find anything in the freezer to use to pry the door open, the shelves were too flimsy to do any real damage, and she would break her hand trying to punch through the steel to get at the closure mechanism.

She pulled on the door again in frustration and when it didn't so much as budge, she resorted to kicking it. It didn't get her anywhere, but it somehow made her feel better and after a few kicks with her steel-toed boots, she'd at least managed to put a dent in the steel.

"Wow," she heard the little girl say in awe. "She's _strong_. Daddy s-says the doors are super t-tough s-so that when the morons hit them with the porklift," Max was almost certain that was supposed to be forklift, but it was a meat processing plant after all, "they won't b-break them."

"Morons?" Alec laughed.

"That's what he calls 'em." Max frowned. Holly's words were getting slower. "Says it's their job 'scription."

Alec leaned down closer to the little girl in his arms. "I'll tell you a secret," he whispered.

"What?"

"She's not a normal person."

Max's eyes widened along with the little girl's. "She's not?"

Max glared at Alec and he glanced at her just long enough for her to see the mischievous glint in his eye. "No, she's not. I'll tell you, but you have to promise not to tell anyone."

The little girl seemed to rouse a bit at the prospect of a shared secret. She shook her head. "I w-won't."

"She's part elf."

Holly looked toward Max in awe. "She is?"

"Yup."

"But her ears aren't p-pointy… And she's n-not even wearing a hat."

"She's only part elf," Alec explained. "She lives here with her family and Santa asked her to make sure those bad men outside didn't hurt you."

"You kn-know S-Santa?" Holly asked.

Max wanted to keep glaring at Alec, whose expression was innocence personified, but she couldn't because Holly was looking at her expectantly. "Sure do."

"D-did he g-get my l-letter?"

Max gritted her teeth to keep from screaming at Alec for getting her into this. She had a lot of things in her DNA, but elf was not one of them, the jackass. "I don't work in the letter department, but I'm sure he did," she answered.

"G-good." Holly squirmed deeper into the jacket and Alec grunted as the little girl inadvertently brushed against his wound. He didn't say anything though, simply clenched his jaw against the pain and repositioned the jacket around the little girl, tucking her head beneath it as well.

Max turned back toward the door. The little window was thick glass and she knew she couldn't break it. She thought desperately to come up with a way out. The air was freezing her and she knew Holly was definitely in worse shape. It had probably been ten minutes or more and a child Holly's size simply couldn't last long in sub-zero cold.

"We'll have to call the sector police," Max said. "They'll be able to get us out of here."

Alec just shook his head. "No service. Already tried."

"What are we supposed to do then?" she asked in exasperation.

Alec's look was bleak. "Try to keep from freezing to death before someone comes to our rescue."

Max knew they wouldn't actually freeze to death, but they could get pretty close if they were forced to stay long enough. Holly, however, was a different matter.

"Max, come over here. This is going to take both of us."

"What?"

He frowned as if she were being purposely obtuse. "If we're going to keep her warm, it'll take us both."

Max's immediate reaction was to back up and say no, but she knew she couldn't, not in this situation. Alec's jacket wouldn't completely wrap around him and Holly, and Max was unhappy to note that Holly's teeth had stopped chattering. Transgenics had higher body temps. They simply radiated more heat and Holly needed it, sooner rather than later. Max hated it when Alec was right.

"What am I supposed to do?" she asked irritably. It was her default response to uncomfortable situations.

"Get over here. Unzip your jacket. Take your arms out of the sleeves, too."

Max hesitated. She could see where this was going and she definitely didn't like it.

"Now, Max. There's no time." This was the Alec Max had such a hard time ignoring. There was no joking, no smart-aleck remarks. He was all business and orders.

Max hesitated for only a second longer, then quickly crossed toward Alec. He was sitting with his back against some shelves, his legs out in front of him. Max straddled his outstretched legs and before she could think better of it, sat down facing him, the little girl in his lap between them.

"Closer," he ordered.

"You're so going to pay for this," she bit out.

"Just do it," he said. "She's barely conscious."

"Cold," the little girl mumbled sleepily, and it was enough to get Max past her reticence.

Max scooted closer until she was resting on his thighs, her legs bent beneath her on either side of his legs. Alec lifted Holly so that she was sitting in the cradle between Max and Alec's laps. Max unzipped her jacket and the cold hit her chest like it was a weight. She quickly pulled her arms out of the sleeves as he'd requested.

"What now?" she asked.

Alec opened his arms and grasped the edges of Max's jacket. "Wrap your arms around her. Pull her legs up too, if you can. We'll use both of our jackets to make a tent around her and us."

Max did as he asked. Together they pulled Holly's legs up so that she was huddled in a tight little ball between them. Max wrapped her arms around the little girl which meant her arms were pressed between Holly and Alec's chest. Alec pulled Max's jacket tight around her and Holly and then used his own jacket as well, his hands on Max's back to hold the jacket in place, forming a small semi-enclosed space around them. She and Alec ended up with their foreheads pressed together, far too close for Max's comfort, but she had to admit, it was the best way to keep Holly from freezing. In only a few minutes, their makeshift igloo was holding in the heat radiating from her and Alec and forming a small bubble of relative warmth around the child. It wasn't great, but it was all they had.

"You ok?" Max asked. She could feel the blood on Alec's shirt.

"I'll live," was all he answered.

"You sure?"

Alec sighed. "All I wanted was a ham for some Christmas cheer. Now I've been shot and we're freezing to death. So… It's pretty much par for the course."

"No kidding. Just our luck." Max gave a short puff of a laugh, her breath visible in the cold air. She chose to focus on that instead of how close Alec was. Truth was, she spent most of her time now around Alec. She still saw Logan from time to time, but Terminal City was toxic to him and so was she, plus she just didn't have time for everything Eyes Only needed to do and their paths had begun to diverge. She'd snapped at Alec earlier, but this last break-up had been mutual, which Max had the feeling would make it permanent. This time Logan didn't feel she'd made the decision for them both or vice versa. This time they'd both decided it was over.

"Sorry about Logan," Alec said, and not for the first time Max wondered if Alec didn't have a touch of Psy-Ops mind reading ability.

"Bound to happen," she replied. "Our luck, ya know."

"Yeah."

They fell silent, simply holding on to each other and Holly, their breaths mingling as they tried to stay warm and protect the child as best they could. Max could feel frostbite nipping at her ears. They would heal well enough once they got out of the freezer, but that didn't mean frostbite didn't hurt. Her lungs were beginning to hurt as well. The air she was pulling in was simply too cold, freezing her from the inside out.

"So…," Alec said after a few minutes. She should have known he couldn't stay silent for _too_ long. "What are you going to do for Christmas… since…"

Meaning since she was alone again. Max sighed. "You mean other than get locked in a freezer?"

She could hear the smile in his voice when he said, "Yeah, other than that."

Max shrugged and it moved the jacket enough that she felt a cold draft through the breaks. Alec immediately resettled the jackets and Max suddenly felt every single place where Alec was touching her. Sure she was practically sitting in his lap, but Holly was between them. Yet, it was Alec's arms around her that had her noticing every point of contact, every bit of warmth.

Max cleared her throat. "Dunno. Guess I hadn't thought about it really."

"You… uh… Maybe we could sneak out… Go get a drink."

Max froze, which was saying something since she'd already been trying to stay very still. "Are you asking me out?"

Alec lifted his head, pulling away so that he could see her, so that she could see him, their faces only inches apart. "Yeah," he finally said. "Yeah, I am."

"But-"

"I've been waiting a while for you and Logan to figure it out." He smirked. "Looks like maybe I got my Christmas wish after all."

"I don't-"

Alec closed the distance and kissed her. It wasn't tentative. He definitely knew what he wanted, but he didn't press either. He didn't demand more than she was willing to offer.

"Are you t-two gonna get m-married?"

Max pulled back instantly and glanced down to see that Holly was awake, although groggy. Max also realized she could feel the little girl shivering, which was actually a good thing.

Alec laughed. "Maybe next Christmas. It's never a good thing to rush Max."

"You know I'd hit you if I could move," she bit out.

"Now, now. Not in front of the children," Alec replied lightly. He seemed far too pleased with himself, and if Max weren't so shocked, confused and, she had to admit, slightly giddy herself, she'd definitely hit him. She was going to blame it on how cold she was. Her brain must be frozen. That was the only reason she hadn't killed him yet and that she was seriously considering having that drink with him.

"How are you doing, Holly?" Alec asked.

"Cold," the little girl mumbled.

"I know. Just hold on, ok?"

"Ok."

Max and Alec both jumped at the sound of the door opening. "Holly? Baby, are you in here?"

Max turned to see the manager standing in the now open door. He looked wild-eyed and frantic until he saw the three of them huddled a few feet away.

"Daddy?" Holly began to struggle in their arms. Her movements were still sluggish and Max shook off her jacket so she could move. She picked Holly up and hurried out of the freezer, although she glanced back to make sure Alec was able to move as well. She hadn't forgotten that he'd been shot and she still didn't know how bad it was.

"Is she ok?" the manager asked. "I finally broke down the door to the office and saw that they'd jammed the freezer shut."

"She's cold, but we've been doing our best to keep her from freezing. You got a blanket anywhere?"

The manager took off at a run and came back only a few seconds later with an oversized puffy coat. He wrapped it around Holly and took her in his arms, hugging her tightly and kissing her pale cheeks. "It's ok, baby. We're gonna get you warm in no time."

Alec appeared at Max's side and stood there, holding out the jacket she'd shrugged off. He helped her into it, which was just weird. It felt… gentlemanly, and… so not how she thought of Alec.

"I had some paperwork to finish," the man said breathlessly, "and my wife wanted to do some last minute shopping," he looked like he was afraid Max or Alec would blame him for what happened, "so I brought Holly with me and… those men…"

Max held up a hand to stop him. She knew all about taking the blame when you hadn't done anything more than end up in the wrong place at the wrong time. "Just worry about getting her warm. Don't worry about the rest."

"Are you two all right?" he asked, eyeing Alec's bloodstained shirt.

"We'll be fine," Alec answered, rubbing his frostbitten ears. Max realized her toes had been nipped as well. "We're gonna go home. Get warm."

"Wait." The man cocked his head to one side, frowning, his gaze zeroing in on Max. "I know you."

Alec backed up slightly. "That's our cue. We should go."

"No, wait! Please!" The man looked down at the little girl and then back up to them. "It doesn't matter. I saw what you did for her. I saw that they were going to shoot her. And you kept her from freezing. I… Thank you. I don't know what else to say. Just… Thank you."

Max smiled. This was how they were going to convince the rest of the city that they weren't evil. It might take a while, but this was it. Word of mouth. One person at a time.

"How can I ever repay you?" he asked.

"No need," Max replied. "We just did what anybody would."

"You're hurt." He looked toward Alec. "I'll call an ambulance."

They both shook their heads and Alec explained, "Maybe one for Holly, just to be safe, but not me. As you said, you know us. A trip to the hospital won't end well for us."

"But-"

"Tell you what," Alec said. Max turned to look at him and once again saw that impish glint in his eye. "If you want to do something for us… We could really use a nice ham for our Christmas dinner."

The manager laughed, then hugged his daughter to him. "Done. Let me take Holly home and get her warmed up, and then I'll bring it straight to you."

"You'll come to Terminal City?" Max asked in surprise.

The man smiled kindly. "For what you've done? I'll bring it, cook it, and serve it myself."

Max shook her head in disbelief. "That's ok. We'll just be grateful if you show up at all."

They all turned at the sound of sirens. "I called the sector police when I got out of the office," the manager said. "You two better go."

Alec reached for her hand and without another word they were gone.

* * *

><p>Max placed the last piece of tape over the gauze covering Alec's wounded side. It wasn't terrible as wounds go, but it wasn't anything to sniff at either. Still, they were transgenics and he'd be fine in a few days. It was just the way their lives worked. They did their best with a lousy situation, they got hurt, and they hoped they had enough time to recover before it happened again.<p>

"S'ok, Max. I'll be fine in a couple of days," Alec said quietly. He was sitting on the sofa in her apartment in Terminal City, looking tired and worn as he pulled a fresh t-shirt down to cover the injury.

Max pursed her lips. "How do you do that?"

"Do what?"

"Sometimes it's like you know what I'm thinking." She frowned. She didn't like people knowing what she was thinking. She'd spent a lifetime keeping everyone at a distance. It was just safer that way.

Alec sat forward on the edge of the sofa, purposely invading her space. "Max, who's around you more than anybody else?"

She paused, not liking the answer, but finally admitted, "You."

"And who was raised by the same people as you?"

"You."

"And who's had to fight to stay free just like you?"

"Yeah, yeah. I see where you're going with this."

"And who's watched you like a hawk, learned every little nuance about how life works for one of us outside Manticore because he had no one else to learn from?"

"I… You did?"

"Who's still hanging around here, helping you, even though all good sense said he should head out on his own? Who _likes_ being around you even when you're being bossy because he gets why you're doing it?"

Max had to look away. She could feel how red her cheeks were and he was staring at her so intently, she could feel his gaze even though she wasn't looking at him anymore.

"So," Alec said, quickly returning to his usual light, conversational tone, "you still on for that drink?"

Max looked up at him and nodded. "Yeah," she said. "Yeah, that'd be good."

* * *

><p>Two hours later, a delivery truck arrived at the gates. The manager was true to his word and then some. He personally helped unload twenty hams and crate after crate of food, enough to feed them all for weeks to come.<p>

* * *

><p>Hope you enjoyed it. Thanks for reading and merry Christmas!<p>

P.S. - For those non-Americans who can't tolerate our wacky Fahrenheit ways… Below zero for us is… -20ish for Celsius-preferring people. Industrial freezers are usually colder than that.


End file.
